On August 30, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts (NTMoFA) successfully hosted the final presentation of this year’s first artist-in-residence, Emma Ben Aziza. During the event, the artist shared her experiences from two workshops conducted during the residency and showcased the collective creation developed with participants—The Museum of Useless Species model and an accompanying educational booklet. The audience was also invited to take part in an improvised workshop with the artist, creating together in a lively and engaging atmosphere.
The Villa Formose Residency Program, jointly organized by NTMoFA and the French Office in Taipei, aims to foster international exchange and promote Taiwanese culture. This year, French artist Emma Ben Aziza was invited to reside at the museum from July 30 to August 30. Centered on her project The Museum of Useless Species, she engaged with the public through workshops, incorporating participants’ collaborative creations into the work. The residency highlighted the close interconnection between artistic creation, research, and shared exchange.
During her residency, Ben Aziza specially designed two age-specific workshops for children in Taiwan, targeting groups aged 12–15 and 5–8. With the support of Dr. Wen-Te Chang, Deputy Director of the Li-Fu Museum of Chinese Medicine, the workshops incorporated local botanical knowledge and traditional Chinese medicine practices. The artist guided participants to explore the profound connections between plants, memory, and storytelling. Through activities such as crafting herbal balls, “planting” memories, creating stories, and inventing memories for a virtual character named Useful, the children were invited into an imaginative space that transcended time and place, collectively generating new shared memories.
At the final presentation, Ben Aziza elaborated on the conceptual origins of The Museum of Useless Species. She explained that in 19th-century France, under the context of colonialism and in pursuit of economic gain, plants were classified as either “useful” or “useless,” a categorization that reflected a utilitarian human perspective and a fear of death. Through her artistic practice, she seeks to draw renewed attention to overlooked and unnamed plants, granting them a new place in our imagination, and inviting the audience to reconsider the relationship between humanity and the life of nature.
Ben Aziza also shared her reflections on the interrelation between “workshops” (which she considered more aptly described as moments of sharing), “research,” and “creation.” She emphasized that workshops can themselves be a form of artistic creation, while art can simultaneously serve as a medium for exchange—both carrying equal value. The artist was particularly impressed by the NTMoFA’s Children’s Art Education Center and educational exhibition spaces, praising their interactive design that allows children to directly engage with art and, in doing so, deepen its power and impact.
At the close of the presentation, Ben Aziza guided the audience through an improvised collage activity using her poetry. She invited participants to freely select and rearrange verses, experiencing through this transformation the idea that “the artist, the work, and the audience are all part of a collective whole.” The audience responded with great enthusiasm, filling the venue with an atmosphere of creativity and energy.
Emma Ben Aziza is NTMoFA’s first artist-in-residence for this year. Following her residency, the museum will welcome two internationally selected researchers and curators from the NTMoFA International Residency program on September 20 and October 27: Giulia Colletti from Italy and Jan Elantkowski from Poland. Through this international residency program, NTMoFA aims to deepen engagement and interaction with the Taiwanese public, broaden global understanding of Taiwanese art, and continue enhancing the presence and influence of Taiwanese art on the international stage.
For more information:
● Project Coordinator: Huang Chuan-yu e-mail: chuan@art.ntmofa.gov.tw
● Media Contact: May Yan e-mail: may523@art.ntmofa.gov.tw
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
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